SOC 43-5041.00

    Meter Readers, Utilities

    Read meter and record consumption of electricity, gas, water, or steam.

    Median pay
    $48,150
    Growth
    -10.5%
    Decline
    Openings a year
    1,400
    Typical education
    High school diploma

    Data verified Nov 2026 · CollegesRef 2026–27 edition

    Source: BLS 2025 wages · 2025–35 projections

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    Annual pay range

    Lowest 10% earn less than
    $34,720
    Median
    $48,150
    Highest 10% earn more than
    $85,930
    National wages for all workers in this occupation. BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025.

    19,430 people work in this occupation.

    What meter readers, utilities do

    Job Zone 2: Some preparation

    Read meter and record consumption of electricity, gas, water, or steam.

    Usually a high school diploma; some on-the-job training or experience.

    Interest profile

    Realistic (R)
    65 / 100
    Investigative (I)
    25 / 100
    Artistic (A)
    0 / 100
    Social (S)
    19 / 100
    Enterprising (E)
    5 / 100
    Conventional (C) · strongest
    93 / 100
    How strongly each interest area describes the work, from O*NET (scores rescaled to 0–100). The interest code lists the strongest areas in order.

    Interest code CRI. Compare it with yours

    What you'd do

    Getting Information
    82
    Performing General Physical Activities
    71
    Identifying Objects, Actions, and Events
    67
    Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates
    65
    Operating Vehicles, Mechanized Devices, or Equipment
    65
    Performing for or Working Directly with the Public
    64
    Monitoring Processes, Materials, or Surroundings
    64
    Inspecting Equipment, Structures, or Materials
    64
    Making Decisions and Solving Problems
    63
    Organizing, Planning, and Prioritizing Work
    59
    Work activities rated by importance for this occupation, O*NET (0–100).

    Skills and strengths

    Skills

    • Critical Thinking
    • Operations Monitoring
    • Speaking
    • Active Listening
    • Operation and Control
    • Reading Comprehension
    • Time Management
    • Service Orientation
    • Complex Problem Solving
    • Monitoring

    Knowledge

    • Customer and Personal Service
    • Computers and Electronics
    • Public Safety and Security
    • Mathematics
    • Administration and Management
    • Engineering and Technology
    • Mechanical
    • Physics
    • Law and Government
    • English Language

    Abilities

    • Near Vision
    • Far Vision
    • Problem Sensitivity
    • Deductive Reasoning
    • Information Ordering
    • Oral Comprehension
    • Oral Expression
    • Perceptual Speed
    • Speech Clarity
    • Speech Recognition

    Work styles

    • Dependability
    • Attention to Detail
    • Integrity
    • Cautiousness
    • Self-Control
    • Perseverance
    • Stress Tolerance
    • Sincerity
    • Cooperation
    • Self-Confidence

    Also called

    Electric Meter Reader · Field Technician (Field Tech) · Gas Meter Reader · Meter Installer · Meter Reader · Meter Reading Clerk · Meter Record Clerk · Meter Service Representative (Meter Service Rep) · Meter Service Technician (Meter Service Tech) · Meter Service Worker

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    Sources and attribution

    Every figure on this page comes from these public datasets. Missing values are shown as not reported, never estimated.

    O*NET 31.0 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license. CollegesRef has modified all or some of this information.

    Page data updated November 5, 2026.